Family says "thank you" to community with Christmas decorations

Published: Monday, December 24, 2012 at 11:35 AM.

Photo Galleries

ELON — For the past 11 years, Kim and Paula Hensley have displayed holiday inflatables in their front yard as sort of a neighborly Christmas card. This year it’s more like a thank-you letter.

“This is my hobby and I do it every year for the kids,” said Kim Hensley.

His Halloween and Christmas yard decorations have become such a tradition for the neighborhood children that they inquired about Hensley’s inflatables immediately after his house burned down in March.

Hensley reassured the children that his 200-plus holiday decorations were kept safe in storage. But Kim and Paula Hensley’s home, at 810 Wagoner Road in Elon, was practically a total loss.

On March 20, the Hensleys’ house caught fire during an electrical storm and Kim Hensley was just able to scoop up his three dogs, Stormy, Harm and Tweeter, before running outside. But Tweeter, disoriented, ran back inside the house and then escaped through a dog door.

Nine months later, the Hensleys’ beloved dog is still missing, and the family is living next door in the house the Hensley’s had bought for Kim’s parents, who are now deceased.

Despite the heartache of missing Tweeter, the Hensleys wanted everyone to know how profoundly appreciative they were of the community’s efforts to battle the fire, find their dog, and care for the family while their house is being rebuilt.

ELON — For the past 11 years, Kim and Paula Hensley have displayed holiday inflatables in their front yard as sort of a neighborly Christmas card. This year it’s more like a thank-you letter.

“This is my hobby and I do it every year for the kids,” said Kim Hensley.

His Halloween and Christmas yard decorations have become such a tradition for the neighborhood children that they inquired about Hensley’s inflatables immediately after his house burned down in March.

Hensley reassured the children that his 200-plus holiday decorations were kept safe in storage. But Kim and Paula Hensley’s home, at 810 Wagoner Road in Elon, was practically a total loss.

On March 20, the Hensleys’ house caught fire during an electrical storm and Kim Hensley was just able to scoop up his three dogs, Stormy, Harm and Tweeter, before running outside. But Tweeter, disoriented, ran back inside the house and then escaped through a dog door.

Nine months later, the Hensleys’ beloved dog is still missing, and the family is living next door in the house the Hensley’s had bought for Kim’s parents, who are now deceased.

Despite the heartache of missing Tweeter, the Hensleys wanted everyone to know how profoundly appreciative they were of the community’s efforts to battle the fire, find their dog, and care for the family while their house is being rebuilt.

So they incorporated a “thank you” into this year’s Christmas decorations, which span the yard of 812 Wagoner Road. It tells a story.

On the left side of the yard, a blowup angel and Nativity scene sandwiches a sign with Scripture hand-painted on it. Next, a sign reads: “Our fire was tragic but your compassion was overwhelming. Thank you to … all firefighters, EMS, police officers,” with a comma so the viewer continues to the next sign.

“And I’ve got a blowup of a fire truck,” said Kim Hensley, adding that he has a new appreciation for firefighters and first responders.

“Nobody realizes what firemen go into,” he said. “I know what I came out of when our house was burning, and I know what they went into.”

The next mini-scene in the series is a family of caroling snowmen, with a sign thanking “family, friends and strangers.”

Kim Hensley said he and Paula are grateful for the outpouring of compassion after their home burned down. “We were blessed to have our friends and family,” but absolute strangers also helped, he said.

He said people who attended the same YMCA water aerobics class as the Hensleys offered to help in any way they could, and one woman even brought the family new towels, plates, soap and other household supplies to help get them back on their feet.

The second-to-last blowup is a “Santa’s Workshop” structure, with actual building materials piled in a corner and the sign for Sasser Companies Restoration Services — the company restoring the Hensleys’ home next door.

Last but not least, an inflatable of a dog holding a Christmas stocking in its mouth sits next to a sign that says, “‘Tweeter’ is still missing,” with a picture of the dog attached to the sign.

The Hensleys know Tweeter is still out there, somewhere; he’s been spotted near Stony Creek, Western Alamance High School, and all over Elon. The Hensleys even saw him once at the Alamance Country Club golf course, but he ran away.

“It really bothered me that he would not come to me,” said Kim Hensley. Tweeter’s vet told the Hensleys the dog is still probably experiencing trauma, and may come home after he’s settled down a bit.

“We always kept the back gate open, hoping maybe Tweeter would come home,” Kim Hensley said. “You just would not believe the people who have tried to help find that dog,” he said.

Regardless, the Hensleys are thankful of the efforts made to find Tweeter. They said they are still willing to pay the $500 reward to anyone who finds Tweeter.

Until then, they’re just grateful for the loving community members and their kindnesses extended both to them and to the wandering Tweeter.